Combined casket, skid, and dolly



Patented Aug. 16, 1927.

y, carrer)Y STA-TES lmirino, OFFICE-.

WILLIAM A. HALL, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

' ooiiminnnY GASKET,

Application filed September invention relates to `an improved means "torreadily moving a burial casket labout and is especiallyadapted for moving acasket, from an upper story 'ofi a house 'down through the stairways and through the hallways. v l

` The olojectroiy my invention is to. provide a `devicefor the purpose mentioned vwhich shall combine the t'eatuies of' a vwheeled truck or dolly` and a. paii ot skids, and upon which a casket .can be readily secured and4 easily finovedabout and readily moved'v down stairs and through narrow winding passages.

' tudinal sectionV onthe line 33 ol Figure '2;

Figure 4;, is a transverse'vertical view on the line i- 4 of Figure '2;4 Figure 5, is a detail vertical, longitudinal sectional view on the line "55 ot VFigure 2;

i and Figure 6, is a vertical,.traiisverse section on the line (5-6 .of Figure 5. Y

vIn'said drawings 1 represents generally a truck or dolly havin-g tour castor wheels `2. The truck has alight yopenwork plat-` torin comprising :i substantially rectangular 1 .frame p 3 of, channel strength and vto, which the castors 2 are secured. A v

The castor wheels aire carried in fork iframes 4 whichr are pivotally inounted'l'o swing around horizontally onV the Ytor-ward ofthe rear bar of thc Ytrame 3 so that the and rearbars of the traine 1, set inslightly ifroint'the side bars thereof. The, wheels preferably have rubber yrims or .tires 5 in order to eliminate all noisepand j ai'.

For receiving and carrying the casket I provide -a framework 6 in the forni ot a.

.pair of skids 7, spread apart to straddlev rigidly connected together 'by a cross-brace S, near theirtorward ends,iand"' a second cross-braceQ, near their freer ends.

the dolly vand Y These skids simulate the runners of a sled `and the frame 6, formed ot the skidsaud*then cross-braces, ispivotally mounted at its tor'- ward end upon the dolly, `and is adapted to i p A y K on the skidswith one cud against the rubber be swung from horizontal position-,- shown shaped 'section [tor A SKID, AND .noLLY.

21, i925. serial No. 57,662.

sition., shown in dotted lines. The dolly is provided I with ytwo outwardly projecting rigid trunnions 10, secured. atY their inner ends in bosses 11, rising troni they upper surtace of the vtraine The trunnions are held rigidly in saidbosses by set screws 12, projecting upfroin beneath, and the heads' of which are hidden within thechannell ofthe trainej. i y f vThe rear andinainportions of the skids 7 vare relatively thin channel shaped bars,

the web portions 13 being on the-bottom to 1 liorin smooth surfaces upon which to slide the device and i s load. These rear portions are ot 'uniform height and are long enough to extend back, preferably beyond the `middle of the length of a casket 14 when the saine Vis placed upon the skids with its forward `end against the toi-ward crossbar: 8. This crossbar is provided with a series of rubber .knobs 15, secured thereon and extending rearwardly an d with which the adjacent end ofthe casket is placed in contact.

The forward ends of the skids are' curved upwardly, as shown at 1G, on a radius struck from ythe center line of the trunnions 10, and the lowersurlface 1T of the 'traine 6 is just slightly above the loweredges of the castor wheels, as best shown in Figure 3, and the curved forward ends 16 merge into the lower surfaces of the skids below the trunnions 10, consequently as the trame 6 is swung up to vertical positionvthe curved surfaces 16 swingv around close to the licor or to the plane of the lower ysurfaces ol1 tlieicastor wheels. The trunnionsfl() arel placed between the rear bar ot the traine 3 and the Ymiddlethereof, and the proportions are such Vref idily swung up to Y The skids i with transverse slots 1S toi' ieceiving'straps 19 by which the casket can be securely tastened to tho skids. f

In using the v`device the casket 14 is placed buffers 15 and it is secured bythe straps 19.

are provided the skids are horirl`hen by lifting up the opposite end of the casket the whole can be ieadily moved about on the castors 5 with the same ease as a trunk could be moved about upon a two wheeled truck.l lt will be clear that as Ythc casket is'V edge of the first step the man in advance can readily hold up the dolly until the weight is taken by the skids and then, as the length of the rear portion of the dolly is less than the distance from the trunnioiis `to the bottoni of the dolly, the dolly can be swung .up to vertical position, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 3, and the casket can be slid down the stairs on the skids, ther operator at the lowei' end of the casket holding` the dolly up ready to take the weight of the casket, if it should be necessary, to end the casket up, as is frequently the case in moving a casket through narrowV or` winding passages. Y

Preferably the metal parts are made of aluminum, highly finished, and consequently the device, as a whole, is not heavy nor unsightly, but on theother hand it is of neat appearance and light in weight.

pleasantr situation now common when taking a casket down from an upper floor; it also tends to avoid the disfiguration of the casket and the walls and woodwork and the control of kthe casket is much more sure and certain when this improved device vis used than when it is not.

For retaining the side parts of the skidv frame on the trunnions, nuts 2O are screwedl on the outer ends of the trunnions. Preferably for giving the device a neat finished appearance, the nuts 2O are what are termed the truck, the frame having parts for the reception of an article to be moved byV means of the device, skid surfaces on the skid frame, substantially in the normal plane of the lower surfaces of the truck,

wheels, said skid surfaces merging at their forward ends into support surfaces, made on arcs ofk circles having centers coincident with the centers of the frame pivots.

2. In a .device of the kind described, a skid adapted to receive an article to be moved, such as a casket, means for tempotruck pivotally mounted on the forwardend i of the vskid and adapted to be aligned 'with the skid or swung to'a positiomat substantially right angles thereto, to facilitate the Y moving of a casket through narrow or winding halls and stairways. f

4. A wheeled truck, a skid frame pivotally mounted at one end upon the truck, rvskid surfaces on tlieifranie substantially' in the plane of the lower surfacespf the truck wheels, the forward ends of said skid sur-' faces being curved upwardly and the truck being adapted to be swungup on the'V pivotal connection to arelatively vertical posi-V tion.

vgln a deviceof the kind described, a

supporting frame having skid surfaces, a truck having forward and rear Wheels,jthe

n forward end of the Vframe pivotally mounted The use Y:of the device avoids the undesired and uns 35 on Vthe truck betweenthe forward and rear wheels thereof,y the* skid .surfaces on v`the frame extending forward of theV rear `wheels of the truck andmerging at their forward ends into upwardly curved surfaces.

G. A device Vof the character described, comprising a skid adapted to receive and carry an article to be moved about, such as acasket, a wheeled dolly lupon'whichV the forward end of the skid is pivotallymounted adapting. said skid to be Vswung from horizontal position to vertical position and back again while the casketl is Yin place thereon. K y

7. A skidV frame adapted to receive and support a casket or similar article, va.

wheeled truck upon which the lfor-ward end of the skid frame is pivotally mounted, the

a horizontal position, in which the weight is adapted to be supported directly bythe skid frame adaptedy to be swung up fromy skid frame to a vertical position, in which' the weightl is supported bythe truck, and

stops on the frame for cont-act with the casket, as and for the purpose specified. V

'8. In a device of the kind described,l a

four wheeled truck, a skidframe adapted to receiveand support an article-to be moved, such as a casket, said frame Vpivotally mounted at one end upon the `truckand adapted to be lowered to horizontal position, substantially in contact with the "surfaces upon which the truck stands,;andals0 adaptA ed tov be swung up into vertical`position relatively to the truck while the truck remains in contact with the supporting surface, and a stop on the frame against which the article contacts to prevent it sliding` down the frame when same is swung up.

9. In a device of the kind described, a skid adapted to receive and support an article to be moved, such as a casket, a wheeled truck upon which the front end of the skid 10 is pivotally mounted, the truck adapted t0 be readily swung up upon the pivotal connection substantially free of the Hoor upon ullhich the skid rests while a casket is on the s 1 In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, this 14th day of September, 1925.

WILLIAM A. HALL. 

